Welcome to Our Website!

We use this website as a communication tool with all of our friends, family, and supporters at home.  We update this website with current pictures, stories, prayer requests, and anything else that happens along the way.  Check out our photo gallery to see other ministry pictures. Or read our blog to stay up to date on the day to day happenings of missionary life.   So enjoy the website and visit us often.  We look forward to visiting with you!

Our Vision

Did you know that in Italy a town or village has as its center a piazza?  It is what we would call in America a town square or large courtyard.  Typically there is a fountain or well in the center where one draws water to drink.  La piazza is where friends encounter friends, relationships are formed, and meetings take place.  It is where one goes to shop, hear a concert, or relax after a hard day’s work.  It is the center of activity.  If you were to visit a city, town or village in Italy you would find a multitude of piazzas.  If you went to a piazza it would be easy to meet new friends as the Italians are a friendly, outgoing people.  However, if you went to the piazza in search of Christian fellowship, you would have difficulty finding a brother or sister in Christ.  The piazzas, and Italy as a whole, have very few evangelical Christians.  Our vision is to see that change.  Our vision is to fill the piazzas with evangelical Christians.  Would you be willing to share in that vision with us?

Intermediate ESL class

Movie Night

Fall Party with the Kids Classes

Pastor Russell Howard presenting to one of the ESL Classes.

Part of our Church Planting Team

Support

Prayer Partners - 101

Monthly Expense – 74%
$1,246/mo needed

Ministry Highlights

November 12, 2011 

This newsletter is a little longer than usual because there is so much to share, but please take the time to read it and celebrate with us what God is doing here in Friuli.  ESL classes are in full swing.  We have 5 adult classes and 3 kids classes, totaling 120 students.  Tom and Maureen are both teaching this semester as we don't have any other teachers.  We have changed the times of the classes to 1 1/2 hours, once a week, which has also meant some redesigning of curriculum.  Needless to say we are very busy. 

This semester we held a movie night at our home for the Advanced class.  It is an all-female class for some reason and Maureen has really enjoyed them.  She showed the movie, Luther, which is the story about Martin Luther and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation.  This stimulated a lot of conversation by the Italian women about the abuses of the Catholic church. Samuel Spatola gave a half hour overview of the story before the movie was presented which gave them a lot of helpful context. By the end of the film, the ladies were cheering Martin Luther on.  It was pretty entertaining to watch.  Hopefully, we have planted a lot of positive seeds and have given the women many things to think about.

We had a Fall Party for our kids classes.  We served Coke and brownies.  (Believe it or not, they don't have brownies here!)  The kids loved them and all the mother's wanted the recipe.  We used construction paper to make pumpkins and autumn designs.  Two of the older boys dressed up in scary costumes and tried to frighten the younger kids.  The kids had a great time and learned a lot of new vocabulary words.  We are now planning a Christmas party and will make S'mores outside the library and sing Christmas Carols in English.

Pastor Russell Howard from McGregor Baptist Church came for two weeks to teach the Book of Acts at S.B.I.  We were blessed to have him stay at our home and enjoyed some great fellowship.  Of course we had to take advantage of him while he was here and asked him to share his life with our ESL students.  As always, he did a great job presenting his family, his calling and the gospel.  'Thanks Russell for planting lots of good seed.'

Last but not least, we have some very exciting news!  We are part of a new church planting team. This team was formed to start a church in Pordenone. Of course we will continue to support our Udine Church until they are able to function alone as an indigenous church.  Pordenone is 20 minutes from our home and S.B.I.  We are currently in the planning stages but hope to launch the church within the next year.  There are 10 people on our team: Sam and Chris Spatola, Samuel and Amber Spatola, Martin and Lydia Armstrong, Jesse Schrek, Jeryvee Bacay, and us.  We are meeting weekly to pray and plan the best strategies for this new endeavor.  Please pray for wisdom as we seek God's will.